Joey Hishon update and other Avalanche prospect news

A quick-hit blog here, talking about some of the Avalanche’s top prospects and how they’re doing this season.
Spent some time of the phone with Avalanche vice president of player development Craig “The Biller” Billington going over his thoughts on several guys.
First off, a bit of news: Billington skated this morning in Cleveland with Joey Hishon, the concussed 2010 Avalanche first-round draft pick. Hishon still has not been cleared to play. But he is with the Lake Erie Monsters on a regular basis now and is skating. Billington says it’s still a “day by day” thing. Really, I don’t want to read anything more into it than that. Nobody should say whether anything is positive or negative regarding Hishon’s condition. Well, I guess it can be classified as positive that he’s on skates and apparently feeling OK. But beyond that, nobody knows still when the talented forward will play again.

The Biller is, by nature, a sunny-side-of-life guy, so he tends to always accentuate the positive with Avalanche prospects. We also know that negativity isn’t a prized possession in Avalanche-land. That said, here is Billington’s assement of some guys, starting with defenseman Stefan Elliott – whose numbers so far with the Monsters have NOT looked positive. 25 games, one goal, three assists, ,-7.
ELLIOTT: “Stats don’t always tell the whole story. I think Stefan has played really well the past few weeks. I saw him last night and I thought he played well. He had a slow start. The American Hockey League is a very good level of hockey and very challenging. He’s still learning. I think he’s on the right side of the curve if you will. It’s going to work out just fine. He’s a good evaluator of his own play. He’ll keep learning.”

TYSON BARRIE: “It’s going well. He’s a dynamic, creative defenseman who has very good hockey sense. Very focused. Ahead of a lot of players in terms of what he knows he has to do away from the rink.”

CALVIN PICKARD, AND OTHER GOALIES IN THE SYSTEM LIKE KENT PATTERSON, KIERAN MILLAN AND SAMI AITTIKALLIO: “I’m very encouraged by what I’m seeing from all of them, and how that position is in our organization right now. They’ve all had their moments. You see all four making strides. It’s all their first year of pro, and it’s not an easy task. But they’re all making contributions.”

MICHAEL SGARBOSSA: “When you lead your OHL team in points and now are putting up points in the AHL, it shows something. His compete level is good. Strong player.”

DUNCAN SIEMENS: “It’s going well again. I’ve seen him a number of times. His team is on a good run right now. His season is getting better and better. He’s challenged himself to work on the areas he needs to work on and has been diligent about it.”

Siemens’ numbers, like Elliott’s, don’t look great. 26 games, one goal, -7. Trouble is, I never get to see any of these kids play until they make their way to Colorado, so I really have nothing to base an opinion on, other than reports from guys like Biller.

Elliott is a stiff. Hishon will never see the light of day in the NHL, or anywhere else for that matter.

The Avalanche simply don’t have a single clue how to draft and/or develop players. The only thing they ever had going for them was the benefit of all the work that the QUEBEC NORDIQUES did for them PRIOR to the team moving to Denver. As a team in Denver, the Avs have not done anything of note aside from getting the gift of Patrick Roy is a trade after the incident with Roy and Mario Tremblay. That incident is the ONLY reason Roy ever was even available. Nothing the Avs did had any bearing on him leaving Montreal. He was going somewhere, anywhere else. The Canadiens hands were tied. He could just as easily have ended up in Washington, Vancouver….anywhere else. The Avs LUCKED out, period.

There’s no more Sakics, Forsbergs, Roys, Bourques (there’s another luck-out trade too) coming through the door. Those days are over. Denver is not a premier destination for top players any longer.

Avsolutely

Don’t forget Roy wasn’t playing up to his abilities for awhile before he was traded. They were talking about Roy being washed up in Montreal. As an Avalanche fan, I for one will not apologize for my team making a beneficial trade. If the Avs lucked out for a trade then the deadthings lucked out with two unbelievably lucky draft picks in the late rounds. redwings days are numbered.

Puck Me Up

HT33- Dude, you’re always on either Avs blogs talking smack or on the Broncos blogs talking smack. Give it a rest already. If you don’t like Denver sports teams, than go ahead and find yourself a team or two that you can appreciate and say something positive about. Quite frankly, you’re pretty much a drag and rarely bring something to the table that’s even worth reading. Double up on your meds and figure out what it’s like trying to have a happier life for everybody’s sake.

BrickAHL

What exactly do you mean by “stiff”? How often have you seen Elliott play?

SilkForCalde

Colorado just brought in the 2nd best playmaking winger in the game. I think we can say the city is still a halfway decent destination.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.